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Bail reduced for ex-FSU student facing trespass, ammo charges

By Alana Melanson, amelanson@sentinelandenterprise.com

Updated:
12/27/2012 09:03:06 AM EST

WORCESTER -- An expelled Fitchburg State University student held for the past week on trespassing and ammunition charges had his $50,000 bail reduced to $500 in Worcester Superior Court Wednesday morning.

His parents vowed to have Andrew K. Despres released by the end of the day, but Jason Rives, chief of staff for Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis, said Wednesday afternoon that Despres would not be released until Thursday.

As a result of electronic monitoring ordered by Judge Richard Tucker as a condition of his pretrial release, Despres must first be sent back to Fitchburg District Court -- the court with jurisdiction over Despres' case -- to be fitted with the GPS at the court's probation department, Rives said. He said his office had received paperwork from Fitchburg District Court to bring Despres there Thursday morning.

Tucker also ordered that Despres, upon his release, be confined to his New Bedford home with the exception of scheduled appearances at Fitchburg District Court. He must also stay away from and have no contact with FSU and any of its current students.

Despres, 20, has been held at the Worcester House of Corrections for most of the time since he was arrested Dec. 18 for trespassing on the FSU campus after being expelled from the school the previous day for alleged infractions including possessing marijuana and other items prohibited on campus.

He appeared Wednesday through a video feed from jail.

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Supporters of Despres flooded the courtroom where his bail hearing was being held, with more than 50 of his friends and FSU students, in addition to several relatives in attendance.

After the hearing, a teary yet joyful congregation of supporters exchanged hugs and thanks outside the courtroom, as well as offered his parents help with making his reduced bail.

"We all brought money with us because we didn't know what the bail would be. We thought it would be much higher," said FSU student Nathaniel Bobowski, 21, of Northwood, N.H. "It's just sad we won't be able to talk to him for a while."

Despres' former roommate at FSU's Herlihy Hall, John Lafirira, 19, of Loudon, N.H., said it will be "worth the wait."

"I don't want to give him any more trouble," he said. "This is a good step forward for the case."

"As long as he's home, that's all that matters," said FSU student Joseph Tringale, 21, of Wakefield.

Peter Despres, Andrew Despres' father, said the Wednesday court date was a victory, in that his son would be released, but the charges still stand.

He said he couldn't believe that the police wouldn't be able to tell that the ammunition belt his son wore regularly -- and that his mother, Doreen Despres, said was purchased on a website called crustpunks.com -- was fake.

"Bad taste isn't a crime, if indeed you can call it bad taste," Peter Despres said. "It's just a fashion statement, nothing more than that."

He asked for civil-rights lawyers to contact the family, which he said needs help in battling what he calls the wrongful arrest of his son.

"We're not people of means, but we're more than willing to fight this, because his rights have been trampled on," Peter Despres said.

Attorney Mark Meehan said his client has been portrayed as "the next murderous student to go on a rampage" in a climate of heightened fears and emotions resulting from the recent Newtown, Conn., school shooting.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," he said.

Meehan noted Despres' many years as a Boy Scout and the "tremendous amount of community service" he's done in the past, including organizing a coat drive for the homeless in which more than 2,000 coats were donated. Despres made Eagle Scout by age 16, was on the track team in high school and has held jobs for several years, he said. Despres also does not have a history of mental illness, Meehan said, and is being targeted unfairly for his punk image.

Meehan also said that the bullets on Despres' belt were simulated ammunition, and showed Tucker photos of him on campus wearing it. He requested Despres be released on personal recognizance, because the high bail amount was a financial burden to his parents.

Assistant District Attorney Joseph Simmons said the belt had been sent to a state laboratory for testing, and results were not yet available. He argued for the bail to remain at $50,000 in the absence of this information, but Tucker decided to reduce it substantially.

Meehan said the other items found in Despres' dorm room prior to being expelled included a toy gun -- which Despres used as a prop in a movie he made for school, being a film and video major -- and a box cutter and Xacto blades, which were used for creating scenery and props.

Doreen Despres said she would give her son 52 hugs upon his release for all of his friends that attended in a show of support. She asked them to write all of their names down so that she could show him later, since he was not physically present at his hearing.

She said the family was also waiting to celebrate Christmas until he was released.

"We haven't opened presents, we haven't had a meal. We didn't do anything," Doreen Despres said. "We're waiting for him."

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